Imperfectly Perfect...

Life can be unpredictable.  Especially with 3 toddlers in tow ... Katie and Jordan are living out that crazy-happy reality daily since their adoption was finalized last August.  And several weeks ago, they were kind enough to include me in on some of the fun!

It all started with a small dream.  and it seemed so wonderful.   and so perfect.

and I said yes  :-)

So Katie gathered her little family together and some snacks and a little red wagon and some extra blankets and more snacks, and they all headed for our Lake Place.  For Pictures.  Like a Family-Photo-Shoot kind of thing. 

And what Grandma wouldn't love to be a part of that?  A picture-perfect captured for their first forever-family Christmas card.  Sweet little faces, chubby fingers and darling dimples... what could possibly go wrong?

We scouted out some potential backdrops around the place... got out the little red wagon and let those babies loose.

Did I already ask what could go wrong??

Aw, goodness... things got messy fast.  3 Adults were absolutely no match for those 3 adorably active toddlers.  At the lake.  With no boundaries. 

It started out well enough.  A nice walk around the pond...

And then feeding the fish.

 

However, C was more fascinated with the swing than the fish :-)

 

 Daddy to the rescue...

 

sort of...

but then C spied something on the ground that was much more intriguing than smiling for the camera!

 

So we moved to the old tractor.  Because, well, boys and tractors...

 

 And lost C completely... it would appear that tractors were not his thing either :-(

With fears of wild bush-dogs honing in on his pitiful cries, we swept them all up and headed for a walk...

Much better... until 2 broke from rank...

 Fairies were whispering... be free... fly with the wind...

 

Oh, my goodness, hearts crack wide...  Undone by joy, this is the face of happy...

And after the running, a regrouping and resting on soft blankets and laps.

 

Which lasted all of 22 seconds... and they were off again...

 

 

Off to explore... the car ???

 

...because that's the place they always want to go every other day... Not! 

 

So what's a new mom and dad to do when they find themselves alone??

 

 Snatching a few minutes of couple-time is a sure-fire way to bring 'em all back!

 

Worked like a charm. 

... and babies rush back for their share of the love.

 

 

And somewhere in the search for their Perfect Family Picture, Katie and Jordan found Beauty Glorious in the perfectly unorchestrated moments of a day spent together in play and laughter...

We never did get a picture of all 5 smiling perfect for the camera,

but what we did get were memories heaped with happy

and hearts filled to the brim with thanksgiving,

for this, God's Grace-Gift of Love.

And that might just be Picture-Perfect...

May our days, no matter how unpredictable or imperfect,

bring moments sweet with the ones we love...

These Imperfectly Perfect gifts of time

are the cherished treasures of a life well lived. 

In Grace, Overflowing,

                     Jane

Grace...Simplified

This is Grace according to my favorite childhood Sunday School teacher...

 

A simple acrostic that makes beautiful sense to me.

 

The depths of His Riches for every need... supplied at the Hand of Christ in the most sacrificial gift of all time...for even me, wretched at my best.

 

Grace...it is such a glorious concept.  It just feels, well, so decidedly gracious... to imagine that God in His infinite Holiness would offer His Riches...to me?  And to you...

 

... a bow of the head and an open heart...accepting His lavish love when we know we deserve it the least.  Grace.  Riches Unexpected. A Savior's compelling Love... Beautiful Unmerited Favor.

 

And in my life, the Graces began even before I took my first breath...

 

 

 

This is mom and dad on their wedding day...

 

I arrived 5 months later.  And no, I wasn't premature...

 

 

Just one happy, little baby...grin...

 

50 years ago, the stigma of an unwed pregnancy sent shock waves through the community. Mom was urged to "take care" of it... Whispers in her ear that no one would need to know... it's the best thing to do... Horrified gasps that you can't possibly be thinking of having it...

 

My heart stutters to even type those words... Did they even know it was me growing in there?  A happy, little baby?  A somebody that so very much wanted to smile, to love, to live?

 

Mom and Dad chose to ignore the naysayers and got married.  They endured the "talk," the shaking heads and wagging tongues.  They nurtured their little "mistake" and I have lived in Happy Grace every moment since...

 

For me, Grace is personal.  Every breath I breathe is a lavish gift of uncomparable richness... It is Grace extended.  To me.  Not because of anything I had done.  Or because of some adorable little smile.  I was given Grace the minute Mom and Dad said Yes... to me... because they loved me...  (and please know my heart on this... I know there are many, many who are scarred by decisions made, of lives hollowed and hurt in the abortion battle, and I would never, ever want to add one moment of pain to your tender spirit.  Praying for Grace to be real this day to anguished hearts, and wanting you so much to know that there is restoration ahead...God's Riches for you)    

Grace. I am humbled completely to even imagine how good God is to those who believe.   I have been blessed to experience even the tiniest bit of this Glorious Grace and it makes me hunger for more...  That Beautiful Grace Gift that allows a soul to truly live...

And, what, may you ask, does this have to do with the Caregiver?!  Thank goodness you asked... and thank goodness we have 29 more days in this Challenge!  Because we're just getting started...

"Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus."

                                ~ Ephesians 2:7

There is so much Grace to come...

It's all about The American Dream... Regret #2

So... if I have found the courage to be true to myself (Regret #1), then perhaps I can find the strength to Simplify...and get off the treadmill of the "American Dream."  Which is not to be confused with the Dreams deep inside each of us, waiting for us to have the courage to be true to ourselves. 

Well, if that doesn't just get all tangled up.  Maybe I could just share from Bronnie Ware's article, Regret #2 of the the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed:

"I wish I didn't work so hard."

 

This came from every male patient that I nursed.  They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship.  Women also spoke of this regret.  But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners.  All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

 

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do.  And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle."

Regret #2 resonates for me...  The American Dream is all about pursuing wealth, prosperity and success.  And there is nothing innately wrong with any of these things.  Unless they trap you in a vicious cycle of work, work and more work just to get ahead.  When my money owns me instead of the other way around I know I'm in trouble.

And that's where we were about 17 years ago... living up to our necks in debt, in the middle of a bustling city that never slept, spending little time together as a family, running on a treadmill of work, commitments and fast food just to keep up...

And we wanted off.

I get this regret.  Missing our children's youth.  Missing our partner's companionship.  And for what?  A bigger house, a better office, a more exotic vacation...

At the end of our lives what will matter more?  The days we spent at the office, or the time we spent with friends and family? 

And so... 17 years ago, Leroy and I looked at each other, gave in to the Dare and put our house on the market.  We didn't even have a real plan.  More of a "if the house sells, we'll move to the country" kind of plan.

God made it so.  5 days after the house was listed, it sold...

And we moved an hour north of the metroplex to a sleepy little town of cowboys and rodeos, spectacular sunsets and endless nights of star-gazing.   And also a smaller house, skunks and snakes, no mall and definitely no pizza delivery.  The nearest neighbor was half a mile away. 

We held our breath to see how our 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter would take the news...

 

Here are my dad, Katie and Travis exploring the creek and watering hole

the day we discovered our farm and made the decision to put down an offer.

.

The smiles and adventures were just beginning.

We found, much to our delight, that this move was the right one for all of us.  No regrets. 

Bronnie is right on two counts...

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do.  We down-sized our life-style, but magnified our heart-strength.  There are few words to express the freedom that move gave us.

By creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle... We became goat-herders... who would ever have believed?  Not our friends, nor our co-workers, nor even our vet.  But the goat-herding brought a happy to our lives that bred contentment.  And joy...

 

 

 

Pepaw (Leroy) and Autumn (first-born granddaughter)

 doing chores (with Barbie in tow).

 

There are days I know it doesn't get much better.

 

And, of course, giving it all up to move to the sticks and become goat-herders is not for everyone!  My mom never did quite get it ;-)  But she loved us enough to let us pursue our path to happiness, and for us, this farm is that little piece of heaven.

 

Simplifying doesn't have to mean a radical upheaval.  Bronnie's advice to have the courage to be true to yourself merges seamlessly with the desire to focus our priorities on quality time with our loved ones, even if that means letting work take a back-burner sometimes...

 

"Enjoy the little things

for one day you may look back

and realize they were

the Big Things."

            ~Robert Brault